[NewBedStuy]

Hey all. I have a question. I recently purchased a three family home in BedStuy, and am very happy about it. The thing is, I am not sure how to go about renting two of the units. I am in touch with two real estate agents and discussing listing it. I also put information on craigslist.com a few times (with pictures) - but received very few responses. Should I continue with internet marketing, or should I just go with an agent? If I should continue with internet marketing, are there other websites where I can list my units other than craigslist.com? Any information would be much appreciated!

[Guest]

What size are the units and what is the price and location?

[Boygabriel]

I'm really surprised you haven't gotten any responses off Craigslist. But then again, I'm not terribly familiar with real estate in BedStuy
_________________
Spend a buck, light a number for one the 400,000 victims in Darfur: darfurwall.org

[bifteck]

It seems like people would go nuts for a brownstone for-rent-by-owner on Craigslist. Maybe it's just not a good time for moving? December, holidays, end of the year -- it's possible the market's just not hot. Try after the new year perhaps?

[Guest]

Send me some pics, prices and address. I will have them rented in no time.

Gotham_Greatest@Yahoo.com

[Guest]

I own a three family in Bed-Stuy and had no problem renting out 2 floor through apartments using Craigslist. I do admit that December is a difficult time. It also depends what area of Bed-Stuy you are in (close to subway, etc.). I held open houses announced through craigslist. I wouldn't use a broker - except as a last resort.

[Guest]

Guest 2:26: You sound like a consumate moron. As a homeowner you will probably market maybe 3 or 4 apartments in your wretched lifetime. A broker has a running list of clients who have a certain criteria. They are able to match these clients to apartments as they become available, therefore novice landlords don't have to exude too much effort. I do not quite understand your brand of outspoken stupidity. Clients pay for a broker's timely matching of an apartment to their needs. There is absolutely no money coming from the owner to compensate a broker who is showing your apartment. It is imbeciles like yourself who keep good clients from finding apartments in a timely fashion.

[Guest]

2:26
Last resort? As in what, forclosure? I thought exposure was the key to renting apartments. You are offering assinine advive. I would thin k it behooves the owner to list with as much brokers as possibe, especially since it cost them nothing. You offer nothing constructive to the original poster. What if their home is not that close to a subway? Then they should do what?
Seeing that we live in a democratic society, even assholes are sometime capable of speech, however retarded the content.

[escap]

What's with the ridiculous aggression and hostility of the last two posts? If you want to make a point or criticize, fine, but the name calling and insults and general obnoxiousness of your post leave a lot to be desired. There's a lot of arguing on this board, but the thing that makes it so great is that for the most part people avoid calling each other assholes and morons. I don't see that there was any need for that here.

[Guest]

I rented a couple of apartments in Bed Stuy from craigs. I put an ad in the Times as well as other online listings, made flyers and listed with 3 brokers. I only got calls from craigs. Yes, it's a bad time of year, but a few things....Are your photos nice? Is your price right? Are you posting it a few times a day? The posts tend to get lost in all the clutter. Make sure you stay on the 1st page. Someone out there must want to move for the new year...good luck!

[bifteck]

Methinks 4:21 and 5:25 are brokers who've had slim pickings lately.

[Guest]

Be glad that you can even feign to aspire to thought, for such is a major accomplishment. Slugs have certainly evolved!

[bifteck]

Ooh, we've got a clever one.

[Guest]

Guest 4:51 pm >You sound like a consumate moron.

Before you go off calling someone a consummate moron, you might have enough brains to spell the word correctly. Nimrod.

[Guest]

I am the "moron" who posted the advice that owners list their apartments on craigslist instead of using a broker. As an owner/occupier, I prefer to control the whole renting process, instead of having a broker do it. In my experience, I am more capable and have more of a vested interest in finding good tenants than most brokers do. I rented my apartments right away - at market rates. I was able to personally interview and approve my tenants - and things have worked out well with them. How would things have worked out better if I had used a broker? The whole process was extremely easy.

[LeffertsGirl]

As a renter, I would definitely have preferred to rent from an owner as opposed to going through a broker. If more landlords were willing to do the tentant search themselves, there would be tenants with a lot more rent to spend because thousands of dollars wouldn't be spent on a broker who posted the property on craigslist (just ilke the landlord could have).

I would imagine, however, that if a homeowner doesn't have the time to deal with every tom, dick and harry that calls wanting to see the apartment, a broker would be a good barrier to narrowing down candidates.
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earth goddess!

[Guest]

I guess one reason I avoid brokers is because I worry they are as unpleasant as their representatives on this board are. I recently rented out my downstairs apartment through craigslist. My house is on the edge of Bed-Stuy Clinton Hill, and I was surprised by the lack of interest, but in the end I realized all I needed was one tenant.

[southoxford]

We moved to New York in May and I was adamant that I did not want to pay a broker's fee. We searched exclusively on craigslist on the "by owner" page, and ultimately found a fabulous brownstone apartment. I was thrilled. There are definitely people out there who, like me, do NOT want to go through a broker because it's so expensive. I recommend regularly posting your apartment on craigslist so it stays visible and making sure that your ad is a good one.

Also, maybe you're not getting interest because you're charging too much in rent? Obviously, I don't know what you're charging. But Bed Stuy might still seem daunting for a lot of people, especially if you're charging Fort Greene rates.

[Guest II]

As a Brownstone owner (and landlord), I'd highly recommend AGAINST using a broker. For us, they've added nothing. And we prefer to be to meet and screen prospective tenants ourselves. Make sure you have good photos, though. Good photos are key.

[bojolais]

I would not use a broker. They do not have the same vested interest in finding qualified tenants, who will be sharing your HOME. Plus people HATE brokers. They get paid thousands for doing virtually nothing. I think the earlier hostile posts were from bitter brokers. Use craigslist and hold open houses. Things will pick up in January. It’s the holidays so no one is looking.. If you need some quick cash, Craigslist also has an area for short term rentals.

[Guest]

Also a homeowner here with 2 rentals. I never use realtor because they are not looking out for my interests - a quiet reliable stable tenant. I need to meet, interview, interact with person(s) before I want them living in my building.

[Hal]

We put an ad in The Daily News for our Crown Heights rental and got good results. We also prefer doing our own screening. We have a quiet young couple living upstairs that pays rent on time every month. I occasionally feed her cat on weekends when they're away. I'm happy to make repairs or improvements at their request to benefit the quality of their life and the quality of my home. Chalk up another one for us morons.

[Carnivore]

[sylvia]

Don't use a broker. Brokers do basically no work and take a huge fee. When I was looking for an apartment, I had to decide how much I would be able to afford in monthly rent with a broker and without a broker. I just divided the broker's fee by 12 (months in a year lease) and subtracted that from the total I could afford. So if I had gone with a broker (which I didn't) I would have been able to afford a few hundred $ less a month in rent...

About advertising on craigslist: as other peopel have said, this is the slow season for rentals, maybe rent them out short-term (plenty of people need a place to stay in NYC for the holidays), then try again in January/February. Don't settle for sub-par tenants just because there seems to be little interest right now... (ps: The really busy season is august/september/october, when students are looking for housing for the new school year. The competition is FIERCE for apartments during those months.)

Also: make sure you include your contact info or e-mail address in your craigslist post (craigslist has that handy anonymizing tool for your e-mail). Sounds dumb, but lots of first-time craigslist posters forget to do that and wonder why they don't get any responses...

Craigslist is THE best way to advertise an apartment in Brooklyn, believe me. The Village Voice classifieds and even the NY Times classifieds have been decimated by craigslist.

Good luck!

[Guest]

there's nothing stopping you from screening tenants if you use a broker, and you get people with the means to pay a the broker's fee - plus a larger pool of qualified tenants. Brokers can do the credit checks, you can arrange for police and litigation checks yourself, insist on copies of cancelled rent checks from previous landlords and landlord contact details. I could care less what people do, but as an owner, you're not paying the broker, the tenant does...

[ambnyc]

I too put my vote on the no broker side. We have two homes in bed-stuy with a total of 5 apartments and we have had wonderful success with craigslist - give yourself a month and don't panic - if you have priced it right, have a good place in a good location (near subway) you will find someone. And that someone will be very very glad you did not use a broker. We have had nothing but trouble the two times we tried to use a broker. All the best to you and welcome to the hood.

[LeffertsGirl]

All of y'all that found apartments without a broker are making me feel bad!

I'll just keep telling myself how much I love my unit...
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earth goddess!

[Guest]

I thought that ultimately it is the owner's job and obligation to review the application package and interview the potential tenant. I am in agreement with the previous poster in that someone who makes such a big deal over brokerage fees may not, or barely, meets the financial requirements for the apartment and therefore may be more likely to default on their lease.

Also, when on the homepage of Brownstoner.com, it is quite apparent that many brokers advertise there and provide a much-needed source of income to keep this blog viable. I wish the opinionated, self-important, so-called homeowners here would realize why this forum is able to sustain itself. In a world where knee-jerk, bombastic opinions were worth the very breath it takes to utter, you guys would all be wealthy enough to not worry and quibble over brokerage fees and whether it is just compensation.

In reference to the "smack-down" comment: I would wager that the term is quite inappropriate for the majority of effeminate and xenophobic "men" who post here.

[Guest]

If you don't use a broker, be sure to use an armed or "manly-man" to oversee your open houses to avoid any incidents of you being the victim of a violent crime. Having total strangers walk into your home can be an "open-house" invitation to being victimized. Just some food for thought...

Happy Holidays

[Marion]

Make sure you run a credit report or have the applicant run one absolutely free (allowed once per year) from all 3 credit bureaus. People who don't pay their bills, don't pay rent. Good luck!

[Kevin_on_Putnam]

[Guest]

How intelligent are these homeowners: ONLY LANDLORDS ARE AUTHORIZED TO SIGN OFF ON LEASES! BROKERS MERELY QUALIFY THE CLIENTS AND PRESENT THEIR APPLICATION PACKAGE TO LANDLORDS FOR THEIR SCRUTINY.
OFTEN TIMES, THE SENTIMENTAL ATTACHMENT THE OWNERS HAVE TO THEIR HOMES DOESN'T ALWAYS TRANSLATE TO FAIR MARKET VALUE FOR THEIR RENTALS.

ANYWAYS, DO WHAT YOU GUYS DO BEST, BLABBER AWAY. BUT LEAVE ISSUES OF REAL ESTATE TO REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS.

[Kevin_on_Putnam]

[quig]

Broker / Craigslist / whatevah.

Buy this book:

http://tinyurl.com/elrvk

Lo, read it as gospel. Do not deviate one iota...

If you do, you will be smoted and sent to the hell that is housing court.

(reposted from another forum)

[Guest]

For the record, the strongest arguments here/above against using a broker have come from the brokers themselves. Who would want to involve such angry, delusional, self-important people in such a major decision? We'll be renting out an apartment soon. I'd been leaning toward hiring a broker. Not now. If this is the best sales pitch they can make for their profession, I doubt they can make a very good sales pitch for my house.

Have brokers always been so crazy?

[Guest]

Ha, ha, hah! Pray, somebody is not going to be able to eat by your rash decision. Consider what you are doing here.

[Guest]

Brokers are largely not worth it. If you don't mind doing a little leg work you can access many of the same resources they use. Besides there was a time when brokers helped to keep our propoerty values down in Bed-Stuy (actually, they still engage in all sorts of racial steering). Avoid them if you can. Of course if you don't have the time or skill to do it yourself be selective and use somone who you respect and who has a good track record in the community.

I am curious if any of the "local" brokers are any good -- Flateau Reality; Charles Atwell?

[Guest]

I don't get it. This is not a sales listing we're talking about. It's a rental. What harm would there be in getting a broker involved? They wouldn't have exclusive rights to the listing and you can post it on craigs to your heart's content. The goal is to rent the apartment, so don't cut your nose off to spite your face (as my mother would say).

[Guest]

i rented our garden apartment through a broker, precisely because i didn't really know how to do it. How do you get a credit check anyway?
Anyway, with a broker, it was easy. Just left keys at several brokers. The brokers let themselves in and out, and I never had to do a thing. Some brokers are really vulturish, only want to rent quickly, so they tried to persuade me to lower the price. But a couple of brokers really helped me price the apartment correctly, and one got us a great tenant. The broker provided credit chks, etc.
Our tenant has been with us for more than two years. and she's great. pays rent on time, quiet. etc. Also, if a tenant pays a broker fee, i think it must mean that they are pretty serious about staying for a while.
I'd use a broker again anyday.

[Carnivore]

Take note: Every single pro-broker comment here has been made from one person, except for three posts by a total of two other individuals.

Everyone else recognizes brokers for what they are: parasites on our society.

[just me]

As an owner of a 3 family in Cobble Hill I only use a broker, one that I trust. He does a credit and background check on prospective tenants and he extensively interviews them. If my tenants don't pay their rent on time it directly affects my cash flow. So far he has rented 3 times for me and each time to perfect tenants (even in a slow rental market) I wouldn't do it any other way.

[jimmylegs]

hee hee, i just like the way broker #1 said that brokers are the way to go because they have a "running list of clients who have a certain criteria." so are these people waiting around at Port Authority until the perfect apartment comes through?

sometimes people do have to use brokers but if you do your homework you shouldn't need to. and frankly, i'd worry about an owner-occupier who uses a broker to find tenants when having more direct involvement would be a beneficial step. one of the main reasons i bought is to reduce the number of such people swallowing my money all the time.

[Guest]

[Kevin_on_Putnam]

[Carnivore]